This invention relates to control circuits and, more particularly, to two-terminal line-powered control circuits.
A recent application for electronic control circuits is the remote actuation of residential lights using radio control signals. In such applications, it is desirable to be able to directly replace the conventional wall-mounted light switch with a module containing circuitry capable of receiving a radio signal and actuating the light in response thereto.
A problem inherent in the design of a control circuit for the above described application is that, conventionally, the wiring to the light switch is limited to two wires which, when connected together, complete the circuit between the light and the power line. In this configuration, there is no direct access to both sides of the power line to provide continuous power to operate the control circuitry. One solution to the above stated problem is to rewire the light circuit to provide access to both sides of the power line at the light switch. Another solution is to provide batteries to operate the control circuitry. Both of these solutions complicate the design and installation of such circuits and are expensive to implement.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved control circuit.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new control circuit having only two terminals which may be connected in series between a power line and a load for remote control of the load.